M113A1 Recoilless Rifle Carrier

     Notes: This is an Australian modification of the M113A1, used as an antiarmor vehicle and support vehicle.  In this version, an M40A2 106mm recoilless rifle has been mounted on the deck on the right side of the vehicle behind the commander's cupola.  There is a modified Carl Gustav M2 ammunition box mounted on the floor of the interior to hold ammunition for the recoilless rifle, but more boxes are often carried in the passenger area.  The weapon is operated from the open hatch on the rear deck. The standard M2HB on the commander’s hatch is retained; ammunition stowage is rearranged for quick access.

     The engine is the General Motors 6V53, which develops 212 horsepower and offers much better fuel economy.  This is coupled to an automatic transmission with three forward speeds and one reverse.  The driver’s position is in the left front of the hull; his hatch is above him, to the front and left of the commander’s cupola.  The driver has vision blocks that cover everything except the rear and part of the right-side arcs, and the front one can be easily removed and replaced with a passive IR periscope.  The seat for the driver can be raised and lowered so that the driver may drive with his head outside the hatch or buttoned up.  The controls consist of a gearshift, a gas pedal, and a pair of tillers to steer and brake the vehicle using differential steering.  (Driving an M113 with the tiller system actually requires a surprising amount of upper body strength – if you don’t have it, you’ll develop it pretty fast.)  The M113 is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (the trim vane must be lowered to its swimming configuration, which takes no more than 15 seconds) – but the M113 must already have rubber track skirts installed.  These bolt onto the sides of the M113 over the top part of the tracks; when the M113 enters the water, an air bubble forms over the top of the tracks to give the M113 the extra buoyancy needed for it to float.  Propulsion is by the movement of its tracks.  (These rubber skirts are easily torn up in normal field operations, and they are usually left in the motor pool.)  The M113 has a bilge pump that pumps water out of the engine compartment and from under the floor of the M113.  The M113 used a flat torsion bar suspension, another thing that could lead to troops feeling beat-up and queasy by the time they reached the AO; I’m not the only one who has thrown up during a long off-road M113 ride!